It’s the TV, Stupid

Along the lines of Al Gore that I’ve quoted before...

”In the world of television, the massive flows of information are largely in only one direction, which makes it virtually impossible for individuals to take part in what passes for a national conversation. Individuals receive, but they cannot send. They hear, but they do not speak. The "well-informed citizenry" is in danger of becoming the "well-amused audience."

...I was listening to Fareed Zakari via a podcast this morning.

"So today's cleverest dictators have evolved. They allow a certain amount of dissent, as an escape valve."

"Another example - Putin's Russia has usually allowed the print media a great deal of freedom, on the theory that what a few tens of thousands of people read in Moscow and St. Petersburg doesn't matter. But the regime has taken over television news completely, so mass opinion is carefully controlled out of the Kremlin."

Stop and think about centers of power now. I’m not talking about morality here. I’m talking about power. Unions used to be powerful. Dictators personify power. Is there a medium, an industry in the United States more powerful than the media? The State? The military? We have civilian control of the military. The President is still the Commander-in-Chief. Watch the figures and see how much money will be spent on this year’s Presidential election. If you thought the amounts were obscene last time, wait for post-Citizens United. And where is the vast majority of that money going to be spent? That’s right. On TV. From Frugal Dad

Source: Frugal dad

What created this powerful monster? Repeat after me children -- Deregulation.

Don Brown
June 21, 2012